1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to closures incorporating an integrated latching assembly, and more particularly to closures with an integrated over center latching assembly for liquid containers such as bottles.
2. Background and Related Art
Various types of bottles or containers have been developed in the past that include a closure to provide selective dispensing of liquid from the container. Typically, the closure is removably attached to the neck of the container so a user can remove the closure to add liquid, wet or dry ingredients, ice or other products into the container. The closure is then screwed or snapped onto the neck of the container to provide a generally watertight and leak-proof seal.
When a user desires to drink liquid from the container, the closure may be removed by unscrewing the closure to provide access into a reservoir of the container. The user drinks from an opening formed by the neck of the container and then replaces the closure onto the container to re-seal the container. In some instances, such as for outdoor activities (biking or hiking being examples), it is oftentimes desirable to have a closure provided with an outlet for faster access than that obtained by completely removing the closure, such as a push/pull spout or a flip top.
Push/pull spouts, flip tops and similar outlet mechanisms provide a certain amount of efficiency and ease of dispensing the contents of a container/bottle in lieu of removing the closure altogether. However, such mechanisms have limitations. For example, because a flip top cap snaps over a spout opening and is typically secured by friction, the flip top closure is not as secure as a screw-type closure. If a bottle/container is squeezed, dropped or develops internal pressure, for example, the internal pressure may be sufficient to overcome the friction holding the flip top cap against the spout and the contents of the bottle/container may be spilled. Push/pull spouts have similar limitations. In addition, because such mechanisms rely on friction between adjacent components, as the components wear during the course of use the closure may increasingly leak over time or extended use. Moreover, as such mechanisms wear, it is difficult to tactilely discern when the push/pull spout or flip top cap is in the fully closed position and the contents of the bottle/container may be inadvertently allowed to leak or pour out.
Thus, while techniques currently exist that are used to selective permit the contents of a bottle/container to be dispensed without requiring removal of the entire closure, challenges still exist. Accordingly, it would be an improvement in the art to augment or even replace current techniques with other techniques.